We were really lucky to spend two days with the wellbeing and lifestyle leaders at Athena Care Homes, exploring group and individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST and iCST), with lots of practical learning, ideas and laughter along the way!

We began with Teepa Snow’s Brain Changes workshop, looking at what our brains help us to do and why changes can make everyday things more difficult. Everyone was up and moving as we explored different parts of the brain, had a go at a brain dance and looked at vision and our dominant side. We kept bringing this back to practice – why does knowing this matter when we are offering activities, supporting someone to join in or finding ways to help them do things for themselves?

We then explored the research and history behind CST and how the teams could use their fantastic themed resource boxes within their sessions. We spent time thinking about the questions we ask and how to get conversations going, encouraging people to share their thoughts and opinions without feeling they need to get the “right” answer.

Everyone also had the chance to experience a CST group for themselves. Our groups named themselves “The Sugarbabes” and “The Dirt Munchers” – and yes, there is a story behind that! There was plenty of laughter, but also lots of learning about how it feels to take part and what helps a session work well.

We finished by looking at iCST and how to offer this individually to people who would prefer not to attend a group. We also explored how families could use iCST when visiting, giving them ideas for things to enjoy together and conversations that go beyond asking, “What have you done today?”